Basil, Herbs - Osmogro

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ChrisM
margo - newbie
margo - newbie
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:13 pm

Basil, Herbs - Osmogro

Post: # 1802Post ChrisM »

Hi. I came across thit site when researching peoples' experiences with supermarket herb plants in relation to my plant watering invention - osmogro. I first developed osmogro as a means of keeping healthy herbs in the kitchen for cooking and I've had extraordinary success with basil. Typically I can grow the small supermarket basil plants to 60cm+ in height. If anyone is interested then please visit our website at www.osmogro.com . There are basil pics on the osmotips page. Chris

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Andy Hamilton
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Post: # 1806Post Andy Hamilton »

Hi Chris

first post an ad thats a slap wrist :wink:

Actualy i am quite impressed that you have invented something and got it to the production stage. I imagine that must have cost?

Personally speaking I find that supermarket basil can be kept going as long as it is watered and does not get too cold. The only time I have had trouble is when I turned off the heating for a few days once in the winter whilst the house was empty and my basil plants died.
First we sow the seeds, nature grows the seeds then we eat the seeds. Neil Pye
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ChrisM
margo - newbie
margo - newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 7:13 pm

Basil, Herbs etc

Post: # 1809Post ChrisM »

Hi,
Apologies for the osmogro ad. but I thought there was no point in being covert about what I did. I worked for around 20 years developing hydrogel materials for medical and sensor applications and my watering system was a spin-off from this. Since leaving my job as a university research scientist it took around 2.5 years to raise funding and a further 18 months to get into production and see commercial product on shelves. It's not easy commercialising new technology in the UK :cry: . For basil I've found that warmth, light and water are the keys to success. Worth noting as well that many supermarket herb plants are grown hydroponically and are often just stuffed into the little pots with compost to make consumers feel more at ease with a product that comes 'growing' in the familiar compost growing medium. Consequently the plants can be in a state of shock (including how they've been cared for from the grower to the shelf) and can struggle to survive. Market research shows that people want to be more sucessful with plants but often struggle to care for them. Some in the industry seem to want people to fail with plants so they buy another (hardly a 'green' philosophy) yet this goes against the research which says success with plants will lead to more sales. More people owning and successfully growing herbs and houseplants can only be a good thing in my opinion. Chris

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